Studies have indicated that hemorrhage is one of the leading causes of death in conventional warfare. For example, some officials believe that hemorrhage accounts for approximately fifty percent of deaths occurring on the battlefield. It has been noted that effective first aid and proper fluid resuscitation strategies could prevent some of these casualties from occurring.
Therefore, resuscitation systems have been developed. For example, a typical resuscitation system may include a resuscitation pump which an operator (for example, a medic) utilizes to pump some type of revitalization fluid into the patient. Such systems often suffer from a variety of disadvantages.
For instance, as fluid is pumped into a patient based on the patient's condition, such pumps are often employed with a physiological device that can be utilized to monitor a patient's vital signs as the patient's condition changes. For example, it may be determined that a particular patient requires fluid resuscitation when his or her blood pressure falls below a particular low level. Until the blood pressure falls below the low level, the operator does not need to operate the resuscitation pump.
Similarly, when the patient's blood pressure reaches a particular high level, the resuscitation pump should not be operated. Although the user does not need to continuously operate the pump, it is imperative that the user activates the pump precisely when it should be activated (for example, when the patient's blood pressure falls below the particular low level) and deactivates the pump precisely when it should be deactivated (for example, when the patient's blood pressure reaches the particular high level). Otherwise, serious health risks may occur. For example, if the blood pressure rises too high, then a blood clot may be dislodged and bleeding may increase. On the other hand, if the blood flow is not high enough, an ischemia/reperfusion injury can occur, thereby possibly leading to brain damage, heart attacks and injury to other vital organs such as the liver, kidneys, and lungs.
Thus, the user must constantly and carefully monitor the physiological device to precisely determine when to activate and deactivate the pump. Such a task can be burdensome, as the user (for example, a medic on the battlefield) may be simultaneously responsible for several patients. The resuscitation process occurs over a long period of time (for example, a few hours) and the patient's status will fluctuate during this time, thereby resulting in fatigue on the part of the user and serious repercussions for the patient.
Yet another one of the drawbacks of traditional resuscitation systems relates to failure of the pump to maintain the pumping rate/level at which it was programmed to pump. For instance, a variety of events may occur during operation of the pump that may cause the pumping rate of the pump into the patient to be altered. For example, an increased venous pressure may slow the pump flow rate of the resuscitation fluid, or the tube that transports fluid from its container to the pump may experience stretching, thereby impacting the accuracy of the pumping rate/level. Failure of the resuscitation pump to maintain the pumping rate/level may also lead to the above-referenced health effects. Other problems may also occur such as if a particular dose of the fluid is required, inaccurate pumping rate could lead to an overdose or underdose being given.
Therefore, in light of the foregoing, what is needed is an automated and accurate system for controlling resuscitation.